Holocaust Memorial Day

History Teacher, Mrs Boyarsky, and Sixth Former, Zara, led a moving assembly to commemorate the liberation of Auschwitz.

Holocaust Memorial Day marks the anniversary of the liberation of the largest Nazi death camp by the Soviet Army on Saturday 27th January 1945.  Each year, as a community, we remember the atrocities committed against Jews and ‘other undesirables’ in the hope of ensuring that such events can never happen again.

Ms Boyarsky reminded us of the importance of eliminating racial hatred by focusing not on our differences but our shared humanity. Zara in the Upper Sixth spoke movingly about her recent trip to Poland to see a number of concentration camps. Zara’s great-grandmother lost 42 family members in the Holocaust and her step-great-grandfather’s mother and sisters were killed in Auschwitz. She showed photos of the gas chambers and display cases of personal possessions, sharing her poignant experiences with incredible impact. She ended the assembly by lighting a candle, as the community spent a minute’s silence in remembrance.

As a community, we also remember our former pupils who were affected by the Holocaust, such as alumna Bronia Snow; the 95-year old, who studied French, German, English and Latin in the Sixth Form, was at school on the day she learned that her parents and brother had been sent to Auschwitz.

A small group of students attended a special commemoration day at the JW3 community centre, while our JSOC students gave a lunchtime talk about antisemitism; they also shared a list of age-appropriate books, films and other resources to enable the whole community to learn more about the past and unite against hatred and injustice.